How Good is Your Grammar? by John Sutherland

by John Sutherland

John Sutherland, one of Britain's most celebrated professors of English literature, is here to test, stretch, amuse and instruct you with his definitive quiz on all things grammatical.Why do purists insist that 'television' is wrong while 'telephone' is correct?Was Bill Clinton taking risks with language as well as his presidency when he declared, 'I did not have sexual relations with that woman'?And can the use of 'ain't' ever be defended, especially when there's no sunshine when she's gone?This is neither a rule book nor a primer but a rollercoaster ride through the mysteries and magic of the world's greatest language.

Genres: Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2015

About the author

John Andrew Sutherland is a British academic, newspaper columnist and author. He is Emeritus Lord Northcliffe Professor of Modern English Literature at University College London.

Reviews

[Manuel Chiofi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for beginners. This is not a book for intermediate students. This isn't even for proficiency students of English. This is a book for English grammar lovers.
The author answers 100 questions on subtle grammar issues from various sources, from newspapers to TV to theatre, from politics to literature.
Some of the references were a bit obscure to me, but I enjoyed the book, nevertheless.
I recommend it especially to mother tongues and to anyone who has a deep love for the English language.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erudite, witty, amusing, educational: a great dip-inter, with much I didn't know and lots I did explained far better than I am able to do. A great resource.

[Crystal Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, amusing & enriching. Surely for those grammar nazis!

[E · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't roll my eyes hard enough.

[GlobeRunner · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I'm giving this book three stars (i.e. "liked it") even though I think it deserves more, I'd like to explain my rating. This is a very well-written, informative and funny book, but I felt that much of it (especially in the first part of the book) went over my head simply because I haven't lived in the UK since the 90s (and then only for five years). For someone more familiar with contemporary British politics and culture, the examples probably make the book more entertaining - I certainly felt that whenever I recognised the context - but for me, it made parts of it difficult to follow.

[Kimberly Eyre · Rating 3 out of 5]

2015